USB Socket for a Switch Board: Is It Worth It?

USB socket for switch board: the short answer

A USB socket for a switch board is a charger built into a module. It takes mains power at the board and gives a USB output, so a phone cable plugs straight into the wall with no adapter. It is worth fitting where you charge every day: beside the bed, at a study desk, or in the kitchen where adapters go missing.

It is not a replacement for a power socket. A USB charger module charges phones, earbuds and similar small devices; laptops and anything with its own power brick still need a normal socket.

We make modular USB chargers under KEMPS and VIZA, and spike guards with USB ports under VIYONA, all in Mumbai. Every price below is from our current catalogue.

Our USB sockets and their prices

In our KEMPS range, the K207 USB charger socket is ₹750 in white and ₹850 in G.Grey (K607). In VIZA, the V305 USB charger, 240 V, 2 A, is ₹650, and the V1303 USB charger, 2 A, is ₹690.

What does 2 A mean for charging?

The 2 A on our VIZA USB chargers is the current the charger is rated for. USB’s standard voltage is 5 V, so 2 A works out to about 10 W: ordinary charging. A phone charges fully overnight or over a few hours; it will not charge at the speed of a fast charger.

That is the honest trade-off. A wall USB module is about convenience, a charging point that never gets lost, not about speed. For fast charging, use the phone’s own fast charger in a normal socket beside it.

USB-A vs USB-C: which port?

USB-A is the older, flat rectangular port; USB-C is the small oval one used by most new phones. USB-C can support higher-power fast charging, but only if the charger supports it; the port shape alone does not make it fast.

Our catalogue lists our modules as USB chargers rated 2 A and does not list a USB-C fast-charging module. Check the port type with your dealer, and keep a cable to match.

How a USB socket is connected

A switch only interrupts the phase wire. A USB charger module is a small power supply, so it needs both phase and neutral at the board, connected to the terminals marked on the module. Many older switch boards have no neutral wire at all, because switches never needed one.

If there is no neutral at the board, one has to be run from the distribution board or a nearby socket, which is an electrician’s job. Ask before you buy the module.

Where a USB socket is worth fitting

The best places are where phones are charged every day: the bedside board, a study or work desk, the kitchen counter and a living room seat. A USB module there removes an adapter from a socket and frees that socket for something else.

It is less useful where nothing is charged, such as a hall or a bathroom board. On a bedside board it pairs well with a 2 way switch for the room light. Our switch board design ideas lay out each room.

A charging point also helps in places where adapters get lost or knocked out of sockets: children’s rooms, a guest room, and a dining area where phones are charged during meals. Count one USB module per regular charging spot rather than one per room.

Module space and plate size

A USB charger module takes space in the frame like any other module, so count it when you size the plate. Our KEMPS and VIZA USB chargers are modular and fit their own range’s frame, so choose the same range as the rest of the board.

On an existing board with no spare module, adding one usually means a larger plate and box. The plate size calculator works out the new size, and our switch board price guide shows plate prices by size.

A USB spike guard instead

If the board has no neutral, or you only need USB in one place for now, a spike guard with USB needs no wiring at all. Our VIYONA Classic ABS spike guard with two USB ports comes as 1×4 or 1×6 sockets on a 1.5 m, 3 m or 5 m cord.

MRPs run from ₹650 (1×4, 1.5 m) to ₹880 (1×6, 5 m). See the spike guard with USB and our VIYONA spike guards.

Choose the cord length for the distance from the nearest wall socket to where the phones are charged, and do not chain one spike guard into another.

Is a USB socket in a switch board worth it?

For a bedside or desk board, yes: at ₹650 to ₹750 it gives a permanent charging point and frees a socket. For a board without a neutral, or where fast charging matters, a normal socket with the phone’s own charger, or a USB spike guard, is the better buy.

If you are planning new boards, decide where the USB modules go before plastering, so the electrician runs a neutral to those boards. See our KEMPS and VIZA ranges for every module.

A USB module on a board also looks tidier than an adapter hanging from a socket, which matters most on the boards visitors see.